Amerindian development continued in 2012 – in face of challenges
A GINA Feature-January 3, 2013
The year 2012 can be described as a historic one for the Amerindian Affairs Ministry. It was the year when projects to enhance the lives of the indigenous people were stymied due to the joint parliamentary opposition’s decision to slash $20B from the national budget.
Among the projects affected by the budget cuts were presidential grants, hinterland electrification programme, one laptop per family programme and the e-government project.
Amerindians protest the 2012 budget cuts
However, following a preliminary court ruling that allowed the Government to utilise money as was necessitated, the ministry began working to ensure Amerindians received benefits.
Hinterland Electrification Project
With the return of funding, the affected projects such as the Hinterland Electrification Project re-commenced and by the end of 2012, most of the 11, 000 panels targeted for distribution were presented to residents in over 186 Hinterland villages, significantly enhancing their circumstances.
Presidential Grant
The Office of the President with its fund in hand, made available to the ministry two years of Presidential Grants in the amount of $323M to support economic, productive and social projects identified and advanced by Amerindian villages for their development.
Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai and UNDP Resident Representative Khadjia Musa signing off on the disbursement of the GRIF fund for release to the Amerindian Development Fund
Given the setback, just over $214M of this sum was disbursed in support of ventures such as the construction of village shops, passenger cargo and fishing boats and the purchase of mini-buses, tractor and All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs.)
Community Development Projects
In August of 2012, the disbursement agreement was signed for the flow of the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund, allowing for the implementation of the Amerindian Development Fund agreement with the United Nations Development Project (UNDP.)
The sum of US$1.8B was released to cover the administrative mechanism for the implementation of the Community Development Projects (CDPs) in 27 Amerindian communities, encompassing areas such as agriculture, tourism, mining, transportation and small businesses.
CDPs are projects designed at the village level to transform the village economies. Funds for these 27 projects were expected to be released and more of the projects are to begin execution shortly. In this regard, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs reviewed, refined and completed the plans for another 159 of these projects.
Land Titling and Demarcation
In 2012, Kato, Kariabo, Batavia, Kambaru, Tasarene, Kangaruma, Rupunau and River’s View received their land titles. The land titling and demarcation process was affected by the late release of the GRIF Funds.
The Ministry has on its list, 13 villages for titling, 32 for demarcation, and is expected to begin examining the processing of 41 village extension applications, all of which are slated to be executed within the next three years.
Transportation boost
With its $213M budget, the Amerindian Affairs Ministry also rolled out its customary support to the communities, most noticeable being in the area of transportation.
Tractors were procured to boost agriculture and forestry, pickups and mini-buses to assist in health and education delivery and to provide transportation services to the villagers. Eight tractor/trailers, three minibuses, five ATVs and 16 chainsaws were procured in 2012. Communities such as Surama, Wowetta and Sandcreek in Region Nine benefited.
Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai presents Toshao of Shulinab with a $5M pickup
The ministry also provided other forms of assistance including funds for the construction of seven village offices and the initial invested for 19 eco-tourism projects in the hinterland.
Sports
Several communities were also on the receiving end of sports assistance in the form of football and cricket equipment. Other communities and sports groups were given capital for organising community games.
Paruima, Region Seven football team receiving football and cones from Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Amerindian Affairs Nigel Dharamlall and Principal Regional Development Officer Deon Johnson
The sport assistance is part of a focus to foster and promote sport and community activities within the hinterland regions, an effort supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, which invested $1M each for the development of sport grounds across the country, including those in the hinterland.
Village management
In 2012, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs conducted 18 village audits to validate complaints received and questions about transparency of the councils’ operations.
It assisted 2127 Amerindian residents to acquire their birth certificates.
Success in social sectors
During the year, the respective ministries and the regional administration also supported the expansion, rehabilitation and upgrade of the educational, health and water infrastructure in the hinterland.
Health
Region Nine’s Sand Creek and Karasabai Health Centres and Region Ten’s Kwakwani and Long Creek Health Centres were among health facilities in the hinterland that in 2012 benefited from infrastructure upgrade. There were also personnel upgrades in the communities, even as residents benefited from regular medical teams’ visits.
The Amerindian Hostel in Princes Street, which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs provided accommodation and dietary needs for 1229 hinterland residents to access health care on the coastland. The Ministry stood the expenditure for 832 of these patients to return to the hinterland.
Education
Residents of Shulinab and Achawib, Region Nine are among those communities that benefited from support to improve access to education as the primary schools in these villages were rehabilitated.
Students benefited from the School Feeding, School Uniform and Hinterland Scholarship Programmes.
Teachers and VSO in Kato, Region Eight lay out school uniform materials
A total of $76M was expended on the School Uniform programme with more than 30,000 hinterland students benefitting in Regions 1, 7, 8 and 9 from this national programme. The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs is responsible for the distribution of the uniform support in the hinterland.
Under, the Hinterland Scholarship programme, 62 students graduated in 2012 having completed their Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Examination at various schools on the coast. Some completed their technical and tertiary education at institutions such as the Guyana School of Agriculture, Government Technical Institute, Carnegie School of Home Economics and the University of Guyana.
The dormitory that provides accommodation for the scholarship students in 2012 began benefiting from external enhancement (land filling) to the tune of $12M. It is hoped that farming through the hydroponics method sometime soon will begin at the dormitory for the benefit of the students.
Water
More water interventions were brought to additional hinterland communities in 2012. In Santa Rosa, Region One work commenced on harvesting water from a self-flowing creek to an elevated storage for the community’s benefit. In Port Kaituma, also in Region One, effort was placed on the installation of transmission mains.
Residents of Muritario in Region 10 benefited from a well constructed at a cost of $7.5M while storage tanks were also acquired for the village, from funds left over from the well’s construction.
Batavia, Malali, Lot 1 Sand Creek, Mountain Foot, Paramakatoi, St. Monica, Rupunau, and Tiperu were among the other communities that in 2012 benefited from water interventions.
Government has already improved access to potable water supply in the hinterland to 75 percent, but the aim is to achieve 80 percent coverage by 2015.
Road linkage
Several road networks and bridges in the hinterland were being addressed during the year as they are critical to linking Amerindian communities to centres of commercial and social activities.
Newly constructed road in Region Nine
Among roads tackled are the internal ones in Port Kaituma, while work commenced on the problematic Barabina Road, in the Region One. Focus was placed on the Bartica-Potaro Road, in Region Seven, the internal roads in Mahdia, Region Eight and those in Lethem, Region Nine.
Kato, Region Eight received money for the rehabilitation of the Chiung Mouth end of the road and a bridge.
Funds were also allocated to the Amerindian village councils for the construction and rehabilitation of roads and tracks in communities and the Amerindian Ministry assisted with financing for several community roads.
Amerindian culture and indigenous identity
The year was not without its promotion and celebration of the Indigenous culture. There was the staging of the annual Amerindian Heritage Month activities, under the theme, “Embracing our identity, celebrating our Culture.”
A group performing a cultural piece at Heritage celebrations in Annai, Region Nine
A Craft and Food Exhibition, Heritage Walk, Heritage Day, Sports and Family Fun Day, Mural Painting and Heritage Fair were among the activities that brought persons together in celebration of Heritage 2012 and engendered a greater level of awareness, acceptance and participation in the indigenous culture.
The country was also represented at many indigenous international forums. Minister Sukhai was at the fifth session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People (EMRIP), hosted by the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland where she made a presentation on Guyana’s responsiveness to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) standards and provided an update on the models adopted by the Guyana Government to promote indigenous development.
Then Chairperson of the NTC, Yvonne Pearson also represented the ministry and Guyana at an ad-hoc meeting on Population and Development in Quito, Ecuador, whilst Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Nigel Dharamlall attended and represented Guyana at a Regional Workshop on methodologies of protection and legislation in Brasilia, Brazil.
Staff of the ministry of Amerindian Affairs with the team of Arawaks from French Guiana
The country also hosted an Arawak team from French Guiana for five days and leading Amerindian experts, anthropologists, researchers and officials from within the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs were brought together to render assistance to the visiting team in the compilation of a French Arawak dictionary.
Outreaches to 100 villages
The concerns of the residents were garnered and addressed as in 2012; Minister Sukhai with support from the officials of the ministry and regions, completed outreaches to 100 Amerindian villages.
At the higher level, the ministry and government heard the success stories and constraints, visions and plans for the communities from the more than 200 Amerindian Village Leaders that attended the 2012 National Toshaos Council (NTC) meeting. At that forum a new executive body, chaired by Derrick John was elected.
Toshao elections
Under the Amerindian Act these elections are held every two years and were due in 2012. There were 96 new Toshaos elected and 10 village council leaders.
Government believes in equal opportunity for all Guyanese and continues to pave the way for hinterland residents ensuring more and more that they enjoy the numerous benefits of their coastland counterparts.